Ultranumb
by Kushinada Uzumaki
Summary: AU: Time Travel! Fem!Naru. Everything is not going well, and it seems the Fourth Shinobi War may be lost to them. Naruto has one option left, a seal which can solve everything, but with no idea where she'll land, is it worth the risks?
1. Prologue

**AN: So, I didn't want to start another story with how many stories I already have, but this idea snuck up on me and hasn't left me alone all week. So I decided to at least start it. I've wanted to do a time travel fic for a while now, hopefully it's alright for a start. **

* * *

**xXx**

**Ultranumb.**

**Prologue.**

_'Go back, fix it...' _

_'I know what Sasuke planned, when he gave you his eyes... and if anyone could do it it would be you, Naru.'_

A blonde woman leaned against a wall she sat against, eyes closed. She was what some could call beautiful, though she really didn't think much on such things. Her skin was lightly sun-kissed and she had three whisker marks on each cheek.

Her hair was long, falling down to her calf's and while it was straight was rather unruly, bordering into spiky. If it were short it would probably be more apparent. The left side of her bangs were held back by two clips, one a violet-blue and the other bright orange.

She had on a nearly sleeveless, long white haori similar to her father's (the Yondaime Hokage) but the flames-like motifs on the edges were dark violet-blue instead of orange. On the back of the cloak-like haori was the Uzumaki spiral, and closed on the front by two thin orange ropes.

Under that she wore a orange, low cut, tank top which stopped short above her navel. She wore a mid-thigh, dark violet-blue, apron skirt which was slit on the sides and in the front. Under the apron skirt was a pair of short black shorts, and she wore knee high black shinobi boots.

Normally she didn't ware the orange tank top, but it was simply the first thing she'd come to that morning and hence what she'd thrown on. The rest was normal as far as her regular ninja attire went.

_'Naruto...' _

"Have you given up?"

Onyx eyes snapped opened at the voice she knew wasn't from her mind. She looked up with the haunted irises shining in the light that came through the windows from the rising sun and stared at stoic looking green eyes.

"You know me by now, Gaara, I don't give up," she muttered, and the green eyes man took a step forward.

He hardly looked different from when they were sixteen, maybe an inch or two taller (though he'd always been short) with pale skin, messy red hair, and the strange love kanji on his forehead. One of the biggest differences was the scar that went from the corner of his left eye to the corner of his mouth.

The Fourth Shinobi War hadn't been kind to anyone, or maybe 'wasn't kind' was a better description. It still wasn't over, though many of the major players had been dealt with. The only person remaining was Madara himself, and thankfully the plan involving the Jubi had been put to rest years ago. The war had started when she was sixteen, now she was nineteen.

Many had been lost, the most harsh on Naruto was those of the Konoha Eleven, Tsunade-baachan, and her teammates. The most scaring being Sakura and Sasuke. They had been some of the last to die. Before five months ago she'd had bright azure blue eyes, now they were onyx, the same eyes Sasuke had before he used some forbidden Uchiha jutsu to transfer his eyes to her, including his bloodline.

Without Kurama to help the new genes mix with her own properly, she probably would have died from the jutsu since she wasn't an Uchiha; The genetics the jutsu transferred along with the eyes were simply the genetic code that held the Sharingan bloodline. Thus allowing her to use it, otherwise it would have simply been a jutsu that swapped eyes.

Every time she looked in the mirror it still amazed her that something like that existed. It was still a shock for her to see black eyes staring back at her, and just as painful knowing just whose eyes they were. Sasuke and Sakura had died on the same day...leaving her the last surviving member of Team Seven.

The first to go had been Kakashi, then Sai, and finally even Sasuke and Sakura had left her. Over the years she lost everyone, other than a select few.

Gaara was one of them, Killer Bee another, Hanabi (Hinata's younger sister), Konohamaru and Konohamaru's cousin – Kurenai and Asuma's daughter; Akina.

"I know," Gaara said, a barely noticeable smile on his face. "You haven't done much of anything besides prepare in case we're attacked, and stay in this room. Mind sharing whatever it was Uchiha and Haruno said to you before they died?"

Naruto sighed, standing up slowly.

"There is a seal that Jiraiya and the Third Hokage worked on together... a time-space seal which allows one to go back in time... theoretically."

Gaara raised an eyebrow.

"Theoretically?" he questioned.

Sighing, Naruto continued, "Yes... they never finished it. After the Kyuubi attack it just sat in storage in the Hokage vault, but Tsunade and Sakura found it when they were going through some things. Then after the war started I, and Sakura began looking into it, and I had some help from Kurama who isn't completely ignorant of fūinjutsu seeing as he was hosted by two fūinjutsu mistresses in the past. It wasn't until Sasuke returned we made any real progress... but we weren't sure if it was a good idea."

"I don't understand how it couldn't be. Explain," Gaara stated, and she nodded.

Pulling one of the larger scrolls from a desk in the room – which was actually the Hokage's Office – Naruto spread it out before her. As she pointed out some of the characters on the intricate seal she explained.

"Messing with time isn't easy, we had to basically come up with some of these seals through guess work. We knew what we wanted them to do, but if they actually work properly... well it's not a seal that we can test. In the end we weren't sure if there would be consequences and what they might be. For all we knew it could cause an instant paradox... or blow up killing everyone involved. Theoretically, one should arrive back in time in their present body, leaving a copy of their younger self walking around. But Sakura thought of the problems with that. For one we don't know if it's possible or safe for more than one of us to be around, we assumed it would be since souls are always changing until adulthood, and even after one reaches full maturity it'll make small changes – or pulses – to correspond with events in ones life, traumatic or otherwise, and ones personality and moods. In theory that means the person who travels past self wouldn't be identical soul wise, allowing for them to wonder in the same timeline."

Gaara blinked.

"That sounds complicated."

"It is," Naruto said, sighing. "Sakura was much better at explaining, and it gets even more complicated. We also can't choose how many years we go back, for all we knew we'd end up before we were even born. Before Konoha was even founded. We don't even known if a person could survive going back in time, like I said it could blow up or the strain on the body being pulled through time could cause brain hemorrhages or heart attacks."

"Instant death," Gaara said, frowning. "So it's won't do us any good."

Naruto shook her head.

"Not necessarily. Kurama mentioned that if it did work, and he eluded that it was possible to travel through time, it would take a lot of chakra... Bijū chakra in fact. It makes me the perfect person to attempt it, and the others believed that it would be safest for a jinchūriki to use. Kurama also mentioned that giving someone a bit of his chakra would basically, in theory, give them safe passage as well. We had planned... before that battle, to use it, but..."

"You three never got the chance," Gaara said, a bit of sympathy in his voice.

He could understand, he'd lost friends and comrades in the war as well, along with his sister and brother.

Naruto nodded.

"I think I understand, but what I don't understand is what you mentioned before, about souls. How can you be sure the soul changes over time allowing for more than one copy of yourself, or that you won't just create a new timeline separate from this one? How can you be sure you won't end up in a different dimension, similar to the one Madara threw you and Sakura into years ago?"

Naruto blinked in surprise at Gaara's questions, and then exhaled in a defeated way, frowning deeply.

"I don't," she admitted. "It's all theory Gaara, since there is no way to prove any of this. I suppose someone who didn't believe in the existence of a soul probably wouldn't even think twice about the possibility of if two of the same person can coexist in the same timeline. It was just a theory thrown out, and a possible solution, it makes sense if the soul does exist that over time, as a person grows, it would grow and change depending on what kind of person someone become, or change to be as time goes on. We don't know if we'll end up in the past of our reality, the possibility of dimensional travel instead was a possibility we discussed, but we decided the pros outweighed the cons in the end. Right now, we're loosing this war. We've lost over half of our best shinobi.

Gaara nodded.

"I assume this is what your teammates said before they died." It wasn't a question, it was if he was stating a fact.

"Yes," Naruto answered. "I think it's our only hope."

"And this timeline?" Gaara asked. "What happens to it?"

"From what we theorized, one of two things. It stays as it is, a separate timeline to where I end up... or it is erased after the past is altered." Naruto bit her lip. "There is one other possibility, Kurama brought up. Since I'd have to use a heavy dose of demonic chakra with my own this timeline may... implode, to be blunt, after the seal is activated and I've gone. It's a temperamental seal... and unfortunately a one way trip. I'll never know what exactly becomes of this timeline, that is what is making me hesitate from using it. It could be either a death sentence for everyone here in this timeline... or a miracle solution."

"You have to do it," a calm voice said from behind them.

Turning around Naruto blinked at seeing the teenager with dark hair that was rather spiky, dark eyes, and fair skin. Beside him was Hanabi, who had long brown hair tied back, and the usual Hyūga white eyes. She resembled her sister, Hinata greatly but at the same time took more after her father. She was sightly shorter than the boy she stood beside.

Holding her hand was a toddler with shoulder length black hair and deep brown eyes – she greatly resembled both Kurenai and Asuma, though children usually did resemble their parents. She was recently three years old.

"What?" Naruto asked. "Konohamaru-kun, if you've been there as long as I think you have, you heard what I said...the consequences..."

"...Don't matter, Lady Hokage," Hanabi interrupted, and Naruto winced slightly.

She'd never get used to that title, she'd achieved her goal of Hokage, but it was bittersweet. It wasn't part of her dream to become Hokage in the middle of a war zone.

She shook those thoughts as Hanabi continued, "Excuse me for interrupting you, but I think we all know we're losing. Even if this place does cease to exist, at least you can try to fix it in another timeline. Like you said, the pros outweigh the cons."

"Hanabi-chan is right," Konohamaru said, smiling at his friend, and the person he'd seen as an older sister since he was a child. "This might be our only chance."

Naruto stared at them for a moment, looking at all three of them before she sighed. She didn't want to take the chance, at least part of her didn't but she knew they were right. Even if she never got to see them again, at least not the way they were now.

"Alright," she said. "We need to prepare though. If we're doing this, we need to do this soon."


	2. The Past is Now

**Ultranumb.**

**Chapter 2: The Past is Now. **

She woke up to to people talking loudly, her back on what felt like rough ground, and she groaned as she looked to the side, only to find lifeless blue eyes.

Blue eyes she knew well staring back at her and she blinked, wondering what...then it came back to her.

_Naruto felt as if she'd been ripped apart and than put back together, molecule by molecule, but it didn't feel right. She felt... different. _

"_What...Kushina..." _

_She only heard a few of the words said and she felt something sharp dig into her back and she yelped as a warn, yet cooling, hand gripped her arm and pulled her to the side as if swinging her around. _

_She didn't stop the movement, though she could have, and instead felt the smaller hand release her as a larger hand grabbed her other arm to pull her out of the way of what she realized now was a large claw which had skewered two familiar people – another claw had tried to do the same with another claw Kyuubi (who she was just now noticing) had wiggled into some freedom and tried to skewer her with had the man not yanked her away just in time._

"_Who..who are you, how did you get...here?" the words the man spoke were slow, not hesitant but she wouldn't expect less from someone who'd been injured so badly. Blood leaked from his mouth, and the beautiful redhead in front of him in the same predicament. _

_She knew who they were instantly, and her head pounded as she tried to find the words to tell them. While she did, she realized the seal had worked, and she was alive, though she hadn't expected to arrive the same day the Kyuubi was sealed inside her baby self. Looking over she saw her self on the alter-like place, crying almost silently. _

_Before her was Namikaze Minato and Namikaze-Uzumaki Kushina. Her parents, and she felt tears feel her eyes. _

"_I...I'm Naruto," she said in such a soft voice she thought they wouldn't hear it, but their widened eyes told her they did. _

"_That's..not possible. Naru-chan is just a baby...and her eyes aren't black," Kushina gasped out, and Naruto looked down sadly. _

_She knew they were suspicious, it wasn't something easy to believe and they didn't have much time left. Looking down she realized she didn't look the same as before, instead of an average height adult woman she was a shorter, around 5'2, and a teenager. _

_She looked the same from first glance as she'd been at fourteen. _

_She only knew of one way to prove who she was, so she lifted her shirt to around her ribcage, and revealed the Shiki Fūjin on her stomach. Both of her parents gasped, and their eyes softened. _

_They both knew there was no faking that seal, and only they knew how to do it, though it was possible the Sandaime was learning, if not having already learned how to do it._

"_Naruto...but how?" Minato asked, coughing up blood. _

"_I don't think there is time to explain it all, but to put it simply I used a time-space seal which sent me back in time. I don't know if Sandaime-jiji has shown you his and Jiraiya's project. The Future...it's not what..it's not peaceful." _

_Those were the only words she could find to describe it, especially with her body aching, the blood she felt dribbling down her back from where the Kyuubi's claw had dug in, and her head pounding. Apparently being sent back in time hurt, a lot, and it had also took off years from her age – why she had no idea, she chalked it up to consequences of the seal. _

"_I see," Minato said, sadly. "I wish we had the time to talk, Naruto, but... we don't." _

"_I'm happy that we got to see you grown up before we.." Kushina couldn't finished her words because of the blood she was forced to cough up. _

_Naruto watched, tears falling down her cheeks as her parents turned to her baby self and began talking. She suspected it was the words they'd said to her in her original timeline. She was watching her parents final moments and was unable to change anything... it hit her hard. _

_Falling onto her knees, the strength she had to keep her standing giving out as she felt her tears subside and her parents looked at her in concern and pride. She realized with a heavy heart they were proud of her. She'd only felt this kind of emotion, the kind of happiness that came from having someone be proud of them, someone such as family, a few times._

"_Nar..Naruto," Kushina got out, more trying to hold onto every bit of life force she had left. "Take care of yourself, and your younger self as well. We know you'll make sure she has a happy childhood, something we feared she might not have being a jinchūriki." _

_Minato smiled, nodding. _

"_Listen to your mother, Naru," he said, and turning back he narrowed his eyes._

"_Seal," he said, and Naruto watched as the Kyuubi disappeared and the seal seemed to glow on her younger self's stomach for a split second. _

_The next thing she knew was her body hitting the ground. _

_'Tousan, Kaasan,' _she thought as she realized somehow she wound up laying not far from her father and mother, who both gazed at her with lifeless eyes.

It would be creepy, but right now it was just sad. She'd come back to save people, to change things yet she was unable to do anything.

"Who is she sir?"

A familiar voice answered, "I do not know... but I do not think she was a threat or Minato and Kushina wouldn't have allowed her to remain."

"She bares a striking resemblance to them... and those marks... there like the girls."

"Hm, I honestly do not know, but that headband... it is familiar. "

Naruto tried to keep her eyes open as she listened, and thought about what who she recognized as the Sandaime meant. She knew leaving the future she couldn't arrive with a Konoha forehead protector, so the one she owned was sealed in one of the scrolls in her hip pouches.

The one she'd wore for her trip (she felt a bit naked without a hitai-ate after so many years of wearing one) was one she found in her mother's belongings after her heritage was revealed to her when she became a genin. A Whirlpool hitai-ate which had been given to her mother before she left Whirlpool, despite not becoming a Uzushio Kunoichi.

"Take her to the hospital, I'll speak to her once she is able," the Sandaime said.

"And the jinchūriki?"

Naruto felt her annoyance rise at how the unknown spoke of her younger self – she would have to start thinking of herself by another name if this was to work. Having two Naruto's running around would just confuse everyone. It was a good thing she'd been prepared for it.

"I will take her with me, look after her for a few days until arrangements can be made."

That was the last thing Naruto heard before she once again lost consciousness.

* * *

**xXx  
**

It was the next day before she woke up.

It seemed an ANBU had been standing guard, so when she woke it only took a few minutes before the Sandaime was walking into the room.

The shock of a Sandaime Hokage, years younger than when she'd last seen him, shook Naruto for a few seconds. It was the Hokage speaking which drew her attention back to reality.

"I see you're awake," he began. "It's sooner than we expected, you seemed quite injured, though mostly a severe case of chakra exhaustion."

Naruto wasn't sure how to respond to that, she'd never had chakra exhaustion in it's true form before. She'd been severely low on chakra before, but not the point where her body gave out and fell into chakra exhaustion which could cause death or in the alternative, comas.

She was no medic-nin, but she had been taught a bit on basic Medical Ninjutsu by Tsunade years ago...and she could heal wounds the old fashion way – that is to say civilian – rather well. She also had quite a bit of knowledge in anatomy and pressure points since her taijutsu styles involved the two.

"If you are up to it I'd like to discus exactly how you got to the scene of the sealing, and what your connection is to Namikaze Minato, Uzumaki Kushina and Uzumaki Naruto. Along with who you are, of course," Hiruzen said, seeing the young girl wasn't going to say anything, either from shock or wanting to keep her silence at that point through lack of trust, he did not know.

"I understand, Hokage-sama," Naruto said, nodding.

"Good, I will step outside and allow you to get dressed. Your belonging are in the small cupboard beside your bed," he said, and turned to leave the girl to her business.

As he stood outside the doors, waiting for the blonde girl to meet him, he couldn't help but think of the onyx eyes that she stared back at him with. They were eyes far too old for someone so young.

They were eyes he'd seen on war veterans, on people with harsh childhoods and pasts. They didn't belong on young teenagers, who of which couldn't be more than fifteen – if that.

* * *

**xXx**

Looking at herself in the mirror once more, and straightening her mesh armour shirt which she wore under a dark orange crop top which reached her ribcage, not far below her sizable bust (a large B-cup).

This all led her to the realization she was once again fourteen instead of the taller, nineteen year old Hokage she'd once been.

Ironically, she thought to herself, it was her breast size that gave her the biggest clue on her age. Before she was fourteen they had been a smaller B-cup, and by the time she'd returned to Konoha at sixteen, after training with Ero-sennin for three years, they had been a rather large C-cup and she'd been 5'5, not 5'2.

At Nineteen they had remained a large C-cup, and she'd grown to 5'6, which was impressive since she had once been such a short child. Too much ramen growing up and not enough nutritious food, but that was because she was never sold quality food for who she was, and what they did grudgingly give her was so outrageously priced she'd grown a disgust for vegetables and most fruits.

But she'd had a point other than discussing the fact she'd lost years age wise once she'd arrived in the timeline she was now apart of. Thankfully, it seemed her theory on paradoxes and the ability to have more than one copy of ones self in the same timeline was correct. The timeline hadn't imploded when she was feet away from her baby self, and neither of them had gone insane.

If any other theories were correct she would probably never know. The seal was a one way trip, and she'd have to live without the knowledge of if she was changing her future or simply creating a hopeful future for another timeline.

Naruto shook her head, and surveyed herself once more. Her clothes were a bit lose on her, since she'd lost height, but it wasn't anything she couldn't fix. The shirt was simply lose on her, and the mesh armor under it was probably what fit the best since they were one-size fits all. There was something in the way they were made that allowed them to stretch and adjust to any weight and height or gender.

Her ANBU style pants were too long but she fixed that by sticking them into her shinobi boots, and taping them down with bandages at her ankles and shins. The usually knee length white haori was now nearly ankle length, but at least it wasn't terribly over sized. Her shoes fit fine, and she had her hip pouches and weapon holsters in place as well.

The forehead protector was in its usual place, though the dark violet fabric and Whirlpool spiral were odd to see instead of the Konoha leaf symbol.

Her hair was a little shorter, at waist length, which sort of annoyed her. She was used to much longer hair, something she did to make her hair a bit more manageable, and keep a reminder of her mother.

Not to mention when it was that long she really had no choice but to pull back one side of her bangs, otherwise she'd not be able to function as a Kunoichi, or see properly. So it wasn't simply her desire to resemble her mother, or her copying a style.

As it was a lot of girls wore hair-clips to keep their bangs from their eyes, especially a Kunoichi.

Taking a deep breath, Naruto pulled her long hair into a low ponytail, leaving her bangs to frame her face (one side of course pulled back by her two hair-clips), and exited the room to find the Hokage waiting for her.

"I'm ready," she said. "I have a lot to explain."

Hiruzen nodded, taking notice of how much she really did resemble Kushina, Minato and baby Naruto. If she wasn't so old he would swear she was either their daughter or the mother of Uzumaki Naruto.

Actually, rumors had spreed since she arrived, and some speculated that the girl might be related to the Jinchūriki in some way. Some of the more strange being that she was the babies mother, even though she couldn't be older than fifteen herself.

To the civilians it meant something a bit more scandalous than it did to the Shinobi. In their field some never made it past their mid twenties, and that was if they were lucky. So they tended to start having families younger than the average civilian. It was more common back when he was in his youth, but nonetheless still common enough presently.

"Follow me," he replied and the two walked towards the Hokage's office.

Along the way Naruto noticed how some stopped to stare at her, and many whispered. She noticed a lot of it was concerning who she was, if she was a spy, if she was related to the Yondaime, the Red Chained Death, or the jinchūriki. She couldn't hear all the whispers but from what she picked up she made quite the impact with her arrival.

"I think we should start with introductions, don't you?" Hiruzen inquired as he sat behind his desk once they arrived at his office.

"I'm not sure how well you're going to take this, Hokage-sama, but I think I should just be blunt," Naruto began, taking a deep breath. "Does the fūinjutsu, Jikan Rippuru Fūin (Time Ripple Seal), mean anything to you?"

Hiruzen sat ramrod straight in his chair, eyes widening a bit at the girls declaration and question. How could she possibly know that name? It was impossible, no one, _no one,_ but he and Jiraiya knew of that project. It had come to an impasse not long before the Third Shinobi War came to an end, and it hadn't been brought up since.

He had thought momentarily about it in the past, but neither he nor Jiraiya were sure how to finish the seal – or if it was even a good idea. With people like Orochimaru around if it fell into the wrong hands it could be catastrophic.

"Who are you?" he asked, eyes narrowed and the blonde bowed her head out of respect.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto, I'm from the future," she answered.

Hiruzen sighed, shoulders slumping as he thought of what she said. It would explain why she looked so much like baby Naruto, Minato and Kushina. Though it didn't explain her eyes, he was positive Naruto's eyes where the same bright blue as Minato's. There were also no Namikaze or Uzumaki's that had eyes that dark – that he knew of at least. He supposed he could be wrong, he only knew of a few Uzumaki's. Mito and Kushina.

"I see...so the seal was completed?" he muttered. "I will need convincing. I am curious though, your hitai-ate? The reason you wear the symbol of Uzushiogakure instead of Konoha? Also... your eyes do not look like your younger self."

Naruto nodded.

"The seal was completed by myself and two others. I am a fūinjutsu Mistress, along with a Ninjutsu, Taijutsu and Kenjutsu specialist."

"So many unique skills?" he said more than asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It took me years and a lot of training, but before I arrived I wasn't this young. I'm really nineteen, and the Rokudaime of Konohagakure. The reason for the hitai-ate is because I couldn't show up wearing a Konoha headband, I have no records here nor am I familiar to anyone. I compromised, it was my mothers forehead protector, a keepsake from her days in Whirlpool."

Hiruzen nodded, and watched as the blonde pulled out a folded up photo, and slid it over to him.

"As for proof... I have a few things. That picture is of my teammates, Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke, along with our sensei, Hatake Kakashi."

Naruto said these names with sadness that led Hiruzen to believe they were no longer alive in her timeline.

Naruto looked at the photo with sadness, she'd begun carrying it with her not long after she returned to Konoha after her three year training trip. she was happy she had, not only did it give some semblance of proof, but it reminded her of why she had done this. Of better times in her life.

Unfolding the wrinkled photo, old in years, Hiruzen was surprised but at the same time rather expected what he saw.

A team photo of a girl with pink hair, smiling happily from the center, and beside her was a boy with raven colored hair, black eyes, fair skin (obviously an Uchiha), and another girl on her other side who looked like a younger version of the Naruto in front of him. Behind them was Hatake Kakashi a little over a decade older.

"There is also this." Naruto lifted the mesh armor shirt to revealed her stomach, and after a second of channeling her chakra the seal which contained the Kyuubi no Kitsune appeared.

Hiruzen stared at for a moment before nodding. He knew beyond a doubt now that Naruto was being honest. There was no way to fake a seal like the Shiki Fūjin.

Naruto lowered her shirt, canceling the chakra flow to the seal and it disappeared from view. Sighing, Naruto tucked a strand of her hair that remained loose of her ponytail behind her ear.

"My eyes are this color because of something that happened recently in my timeline. First I think I should explain why I came back," she began, and Hiruzen sat forward, eager to listen but dreading her words. "When I was nearly thirteen things began to go down hill. During the chūnin exams that my team and I participated in Orochimaru showed up. He placed the cursed seal on my teammate, Sasuke, wanting to gain the Sharingan..."

"Sorry to interrupt, Naruto, but may I ask why Orochimaru chose to target Sasuke? There are many Uchiha in the village," the Hokage asked, and Naruto sighed, wincing.

"Not in my time. Sasuke was the last after the clan was massacred on orders from the elders. From what I understand they were planning a coup."

Hiruzen froze, and than sighed.

"I see..."

Naruto continued.

"During the chūnin Exam finals Orochimaru and his sound-nin, from the hidden village he'd formed over the years, invaded with the help of Suna. It was during the invasion you were killed by Orochimaru, and a little while later Ero-sennin – Jiraiya – and I went to find Tsunade-baachan to become Hokage."

Hiruzen raised a startled eyebrow.

"You actually convinced Tsunade to return as Hokage?"

Naruto grinned.

"Godaime Hokage, and she was a great Hokage... though she still drank too much according to Shizune-neechan," Naruto said. "A lot happened after we returned with Tsunade, and after a failed mission to return Sasuke back to the leaf, after he left to join Orochimaru in order to gain power to avenge his clan, I went with Jiraiya on a three year training trip."

Hiruzen wanted to ask more details on Uchiha Sasuke's defection, but from the pain in her voice and eyes he decided it must be a very sensitive subject. A reason she simply glossed over it instead of going into any details.

"I was sixteen when the Fourth Shinobi War began," she said and it was like a punch to the gut for Hiruzen.

Fourth Shinobi War... and barely over a decade after the Third War ended. From the fact she'd used the Jikan Rippuru Fūin (Time Ripple Seal) he was sure the future war hadn't ended well.

It was kind of ironic, he'd completely accepted the fact would die in thirteen years... or at least he had in her timeline. He supposed he could prevent it in this one, but it was the possible war that caught his attention. Most people would have focused on the fact someone had just told them they'd die in years to come.

"It isn't...wasn't going well. It started with Akatsuki, and then turned into the war. We were able to form an alliance with the other villages – Kiri, Suna, Kumo, and Iwa – but the war just went on. A year passed and then three. Suna was gone – what was left had moved to Konoha who held the least damage still yet, but had still lost many shinobi and civilians. Iwa was barely standing, as was Kumo, and Kiri had fallen not long after Suna when I was eighteen."

"This is troubling news," Hiruzen muttered, a deep frown etched into his aged face. "I take it this was your last resort?"

Naruto nodded.

"About five months ago, in my timeline, there was an invasion. I had been Hokage for about year, Tsunade having died when I was eighteen. I had hoped it would be the final battle, and everyone fought hard, but there was just too many, and not enough of the Alliance left. I stood against the leader of the enemy forces, which was not easy seeing as he was and is very powerful. While I was doing this, my teammates, Sasuke and Sakura, took care of his right hand guy, who had trained under Orochimaru and knew how to resurrect the dead to fight for them. They brought back many excellent shinobi, who couldn't help but fight for him."

Hiruzen's eyes narrowed at this news, a burning anger at someone who would desecrate someones body in such a way as to bring them back to life, and force them to fight in a war against people they'd known, and loved at one point in time. Against villages they'd died to protect.

"This leader..." he trailed off and Naruto cut in.

"You might not believe me, but it's Uchiha Madara," she said.

"Madara... but he's dead," Hiruzen said, eyes wide.

"No, he isn't. There was never any body after all. He survived, and near impossible to kill. He's like a cockroach, he keeps coming back," she said, a deep anger in her voice as she spoke of the man.

"During the invasion I spoke of, I was caught off guard and Madara got a lucky shot in. I couldn't recover fast enough and... I would have died but Sasuke had broken off from Sakura. He had a feeling I would need some help, and Sakura encouraged him to go. Madara nearly killed me, but at the last second Sasuke was there in front of me, taking the blow for me. Before he died he used a forbidden jutsu, known only to a few Uchiha, that allowed them to transfer their eyes to another. It was usually used on another of their clan, but with me it was a bit more painful since I'm not a Uchiha biologically. My eyes for one were fine, and usually it's used when eyes have been damaged."

Naruto had her eyes closed, and Hiruzen was sure it was from bad memories. He'd seen many war veterans do the same when forced to talk about certain events.

The blonde's eyes snapped opened, and whatever Hiruzen expected it wasn't to see a fully mature blazing Sharingan staring back at him.

"The Sharingan... you actually were able to activate it?" he muttered, surprise and awe in his voice. "But how...bloodlines are tied to genetics, and just eyes being transferred...the only instance is Kakashi and the eyes were activated when transplanted manually."

"A normal person, it might work like that, but I'm not ordinary. I'm a jinchūriki, not to mention the jutsu Sasuke used was more complicated than just transferring someone eyes... along with the eyes the genetic strand containing the Sharingan is passed along too... to guarantee the bloodline followed the eyes. It was one reason it was forbidden, and only used on another of the clan if ever used, and why very few knew of its existence. Sasuke found it on accident. Kurama later told me that if it weren't for my Uzumaki blood, and him being sealed inside me the process of the genetic code for the Sharingan merging into my own genetics would have killed me. My other teammate, Sakura, died taking Kabuto out. Kabuto being the one who was resurrecting the shinobi to fight us."

Her eyes faded back to black, and Hiruzen shook his head at everything being dropped on him. He'd thought the shocks had ended with the identity of the girl before him but they kept coming.

"Kurama... you mentioned him being sealed inside you, so I assume that is the Kyuubi?" Hiruzen asked.

Naruto nodded.

"Yes, Kurama is his name. Kyuubi is simply his title. It took a while but we've worked together as partners since the war. It was Madara who caused him to attack last night, and Madara who pulled him from my mother's seal."

The Hokage sighed, rubbing his temples.

"I see." He looked at Naruto then, and nodded. "I can not blame you for wanting to change things. I take it after that things went even worse. Now, all I can think of is to welcome you into the village. I take it you're above jōnin level."

"I actually don't know. To be honest I'm younger here, and my body isn't up to the level it was in the future. I'll probably have to retrain my body to catch up with my knowledge. I'd say I was high chūnin level, low jōnin level for sure, though."

"You'll need a back story, and a name to go by. We can't have two Uzumaki Naruto's running around. This will be difficult. We have to explain who you are, why you arrived now, and your connection the Minato, Kushina and Naruto, along with why you have the Sharingan."

Naruto smiled a fox-like smile.

"We'd thought of that. Originally Sasuke, Sakura and I were supposed to use the seal together, but things changed once they died. Before leaving the future I worked to change the original cover story some to incorporate my connection to the Uchiha's. I even took a look at Sasuke's family tree to make sure it would work," Naruto began and took a deep breath.

"I will be Uzumaki Noriko, fourteen years old, born October 1st. I was born in Uzushiogakure, and became a genin of Uzushio when I was seven, and chūnin when I was nine, not long before Uzushio was destroyed. My mother was Uzumaki Shiori, daughter of Uzumaki Chizue and Uchiha Kota. My grandfather never knew my grandmother was pregnant, they met during a mission that had them crossing paths. He died early in the Third War, if I remember right. Uzumaki Chizue was Uzumaki Kushina's aunt, giving a good reason for my resemblance to her."

Hiruzen nodded, remembering a Uchiha Kota. He'd taken out a group of thirty Iwa-nin when he'd died during the war.

"My father was Namikaze Seiji, who had an affair with my mother when his son was six, and I was born a year later in Whirlpool. My father knew about me, but never told anyone, and of course he died on a mission not long after I was born and Minato was in the academy. This explains my resemblance to the Yondaime Hokage, his wife and my baby self as well as why I have the Sharingan. I inherited my grandfather's eyes. I have some papers I created, forged records and a birth certificate."

Hiruzen accepted the folder of papers which included just about everything possible to make Uzumaki Noriko a real identity and former Uzushio Kunoichi. Looking at it there was no way to tell it was forged, everything looked completely authentic, there was even blood test results which were dated for a few months prior, forged of course, to show her as Minato's half-sister and Kushina's second cousin. There was even a birth certificate, and records of missions and her days in service to Uzushiogakure before it was destroyed.

"It looks to be in place," he said.

"I had help getting it ready," Naruto said, an than frowned. "I think that the truth should be known to only a few. I really don't trust the Elders, no offense Hokage-jiji."

"You have people in mind that you would like to know," Hiruzen said, smiling.

"Yeah," Naruto – or maybe Noriko would be more appropriate – nodded. "The first person I'd like to know is Hatake Kakashi. He was my sensei in the future, my friend, I'd like him to be aware of what's going on. Not to mention he is one of the very few to know Naruto is Minato and Kushina's daughter. The rest I'll have to think on. Eventually I figure the truth might come to light, but then again it's probably best to keep it from the majority. Naruto will be told, eventually, when she's older."

"Ah, yes about Naruto," Hiruzen began. "I doubt I could convince you to allow Naruto to go anywhere but with you to live?"

Naruto's eyes narrowed.

"You'd be correct. My parents, I was able to talk to them before they finished the sealing. I have to take care of her, not just that, I want to give her a childhood I never got."

"Alright, and what will we currently tell the public? Naruto can't be revealed as the daughter of the Yondaime and Kushina yet... Iwa would jump at the chance to kill her, though they'd probably feel the same about you," Hiruzen mused and Naruto shrugged.

"Just tell them the cover story, and I can take care of myself as far as Iwa is concerned. That I survived the destruction of Uzushiogakure and found out about my brother. It took me a few years, but I found him a few months ago. I was there for the sealing, and it's probably best to get it out in the open of my status as jinchūriki. We can say my father split the Kyuubi Chakra, sealing half in me and half in baby Naruto. I was able to handle the sealing so late in life because it was only half of the Kyuubi's power and my lineage. This way I don't have to worry about using Kurama's chakra on a mission, and being found out, raising questions. As for why I am caring for Naruto... we can tell them she's mine. I would say my cousin through Kushina, but that might make people connect Naruto as the Yondaime's daughter since people knew Kushina was seeing Minato. So we'll just pass her off as my daughter, one of the reasons Minato never allowed it to be known I existed."

Hiruzen thought it over and nodded. It was a good idea, none would question the relation.

Since the blonde was Naruto's future self they'd be near identical, if not identical – though the fact Naruto (or Noriko he supposed he should begin thinking of her as) had onyx colored eyes, like nearly every Uchiha, and her being older would stop any suspicion on why the two were like clones of one another, as children looking _that _much like one parent was near impossible as far he knew.

As it was there were people who were assuming that baby Naruto was linked to the mysterious girls arrival. No one would think twice of the claim. She was rather young, but once again it wasn't all that uncommon. Usually not as young as fourteen, but her age couldn't be helped and she was mentally nineteen.

"That will work, I'm glad to know you'd thought of this before rushing into using the seal," he said. "I'm sure you know how to get into your parents house in the Namikaze compound, so you and Naruto can rest there. Tomorrow I will bring in Kakashi and we'll explain this all to him. Tonight I will deal with the Council."

Naruto nodded, standing up after the Hokage, and followed him to one of the corners, where she noticed a bassinet which held her younger self. Smiling down at the sleeping baby, she looked at the Sandaime as if asking permission before gently picking the blonde baby up.

"I will see you tomorrow," Naru – no, Noriko said.

_'I'll have to get used to the name more, from now on I'm not Uzumaki Naruto,' _she thought as she made her way from the Hokage's office and towards the Namikaze estate as quickly as she could, not wanting anyone to recognize baby Naruto and try anything. _'I'm Uzumaki Noriko, sister of the Yellow Flash and cousin of the Red Chained Death.' _


	3. The Yondaime's Sister

**AN: So, here is the next chapter. Some have been asking about the pairing, and I've decided the pairing will be Kakashi/Noriko and probably Sasuke and Naruto. Remember, from now on future Naruto is Noriko. When Naruto is mentioned it will be that timelines Naruto. **

* * *

**Ultranumb.**

**Chapter 3: The Yondaime's Sister. **

**~ A Week After Noriko's arrival ~**

Konohagakure no Sato had been through many rough times, many wars, and shocking announcements by their Hokages, but there was no preparing them for this.

The new that the Yondaime Hokage had a surviving relative, a Namikaze, a clan thought extinct once the Yondaime died _'heir-less'_.

To find out she was also an Uzumaki by her mother's side of the family, and the granddaughter of Uchiha Kota – a man thought to have died without children in the Third War at a old age of forty-one – was even more of a surprise.

The Uchiha clan had been up in arms at this news, it wasn't often their clan members fooled around and had bastard children that were born outside the village. They were rather paranoid about their bloodline after all, though not to the extent of the Hyūga clan. Actually, they went out of their way to be as different from the Hyūga clan in methods as they possibly could.

The only consolation was that the girl was now back in Konoha, even if she was an Illegitimate Uchiha and it had been by pure luck (in their opinion) she even inherited the bloodline, which apparently hadn't been present in her mother, Uzumaki Shiori, despite the woman having inherited the common Uchiha black eyes.

The shock, and happiness the village felt soon faded once the identity of the sister was revealed. The mysterious girl, who had appeared during the Kyuubi attack, and was found with the bodies of the Yondaime and Uzumaki Kushina, along with the jinchūriki, was the sister in question.

She had been one of the few surviving Kunoichi of Uzushiogakure, and had traveled around until she found her brother, which her mother had told her about, what little Uzumaki Shiori knew of him at least.

The Hokage had revealed that Uzumaki Noriko, the Yondaime's half-sister, had been present at the sealing because the Yondaime had split the Kyuubi's power in half sealing half into Noriko, knowing her Uzumaki blood would save her from dying at such a late sealing, and the other half in his sister's daughter, Uzumaki Naruto.

Konoha was split in half at the news, many thought the girl was just as bad as her daughter, both being the monster who'd attacked their village. Many wanted both put to death, but those people were soon silenced by the Sandaime who continued to place a law in place.

No one was to reveal the status of Uzumaki Noriko or Uzumaki Naruto to the next generation or speak of them being the jinchūriki's of the Kyuubi no Kitsune.

The punishment being death.

The other half trusted the Yondaime. If he would seal something so evil as the Kyuubi into his own sister than he must have known what he was doing. They were weary, who wouldn't be? After all, many were starting to blame the Uchiha for the Kyuubi's rampage and she herself was an Uchiha. A fully matured Sharingan to prove this fact.

Nonetheless nothing catastrophic happened during the week after the revelation of the Yondaime's sister. True, many people disliked the two Uzumaki's, but they dared not try anything.

After all, Uzumaki Noriko was a chūnin in Uzushio before it was destroyed, and was now a chūnin of Konohagakure – she was bound to be skilled, especially with the famed Sharingan at her disposal. That didn't mean they couldn't do other things to show their hatred for the Kyuubi by taking it out on Noriko and baby Naruto.

It was Hatake Kakashi that was having the worse time of taking this all in. it wasn't because of the public announcement of Noriko and her relation to his late sensei, but because he knew the truth. He'd known hours before the Hokage made the announcement.

He had yet to meet her though, she had been standing beside the Hokage during the announcement, but quickly retreated by Shunshin to what he assumed to be her home.

Apparently she had expected the turn out of reactions. He'd seen her at a distance, and from where he'd stood he could easily believe she was Naruto from the future.

Naruto... or Noriko as her name was now, had long blonde hair that sort of spiked out some as it fell down her back, similar to Kushina's had (though Kushina's had been straight). Her skin was a mix between the two, not as fair as Kushina's had been, but not as tanned as Minato's had been.

It was a fair sun kissed, but that was from a distance, and despite having good eyesight he'd been rather far away at the time. Her eyes looked dark, and the Hokage had mentioned it being because her teammate had used a forbidden jutsu to transfer his eyes and bloodline to her before he died.

It had struck a cord in him, hadn't Obito done something similar for him (even if it hadn't been by a jutsu, and only one eye, which he couldn't control as if he had been born with the Sharingan)?

He could also understand the pain she must have felt by losing her two teammates. The difference was that it sounded as if she'd lost everyone she cared about in the future war.

"Demon whore, we don't need you or your spawn..."

Kakashi came out of his thoughts at the sound of the rough voice, and stopped, looking over at a fruit stand which was set up about five too ten feet away from him.

"There's no need for name calling, sir," a softer, yet almost monotone voice spoke up, and his eyes widened as he saw the bright sunny blonde hair with the most subtle red-highlights he'd ever seen.

In the sunlight it made her hair look as if it were a glowing sunset. It was long, waist length, and pulled back into a low ponytail, her bangs hanging freely and gathered away from her face on the left side by two hair-clips (one dark violet and the other dark orange), similar to how Kushina had worn her long bangs which otherwise got in her way in a fight or daily activities.

"The hell there isn't!" the owner nearly yelled, drawing attention from others.

Kakashi noticed how some gave the owner reproaching looks, as if demeaning him for talking to their heroes sister in such a manner. Others glowered at Noriko, who simply ignored this. It was almost as if she was used to it, and knowing exactly who she was Kakashi didn't doubt she was.

"Let her buy her fruit," Kakashi said once he was a foot from Noriko and the fruit stand, hands stuffed in his pockets. "You really shouldn't be so rude to a lady offering your business profit. Not to mention you might be careful what you say in the future, someone might take your insults too literally..."

Noriko seemed to tense up, and the owner seemed to freeze and stare like a deer caught in bright lights. After a second the owner nodded, placed Noriko's purchases in a bag and took her money (surprisingly the correct amount, Noriko couldn't help but muse) and handed the bag over.

Noriko thanked the man and turned, coming face to face with someone she thought long dead.

Hatake Kakashi, at age fourteen, but it was still him.

* * *

**xXx**

He was right, she really did have dark eyes. It was easy to mistake her for an Uchiha by birth with her piercing, haunting, onyx eyes which he was sure could freeze a man in their tracks if she tried.

Right now he could only see calm, contentedness in them along with the fact her eyes reminded him of a war veteran, and his own to some extent, having lost his entire team. Obito had died during the Third War, Rin a year later, and now he'd lost Minato and Kushina.

It took a moment for him to recall just who Noriko was. For some reason though he couldn't think of her as Naruto, maybe because to him Naruto was a baby, barely a week old, and Noriko, while being the future version of that baby, was so different. For one she was his age.

She was about two or three inches shorter than him, and he'd been correct about her skin-tone being a mix of Minato and Kushina's, but she would probably tan rather easily if she wanted too.

Her face was like Kushina's, but a little sharper thanks to Minato's sharper features. Her eyes were the exact shape of Kushina's but were onyx – he knew they had once been as blue as Minato's if what the Hokage had told him was correct.

She was wearing a pale ivory-blue kimono, which had snowflake designs along the bottom and the sleeves. The obi was ivory with some of the pale blue stitching along it, and on the shoulder he saw the Uzumaki spiral (though white instead of the standard orange-red) – so it must have belonged to Kushina, probably when she was younger since it fit Noriko perfectly.

"Thank you," she said, drawing him from his thoughts. "I take it you know... everything?"

the way she said it he knew she was talking about the truth of her identity and he nodded. Noriko seemed to hesitate for a moment before she nodded.

"Would you like to come back to the house with me, we can talk," she said more than asked.

"Sure," he said. It was kind of awkward, though he couldn't be too surprised. He was probably a ghost to her, since he was assuming he was long dead in her timeline. "Naruto is back at the house?"

It was his attempt to break the tension, and it worked a little since Noriko chuckled.

"I didn't feel right about bringing her with me so soon. I figured seeing me would anger enough people, so I left her at the house. Don't worry, she's protected."

* * *

**xXx**

Noriko laughed at the reaction Kakashi gave when they arrived at the house and noticed the two large foxes which guarded the house.

One was the size of a pony, the other just a inch or two taller, both had three tails. The Kitsune summoning clan was a distant relation to Kyuubi, which was why they had more than one tail. The boss of the clan had the most tails, at six, which was the most any Kitsune could possess.

Kurama, being a Bijū and the original Kitsune to posses more than one tail, was the only being that would or could have nine tails.

It was through Kurama's connection, though not as strong after so long, that she gain the fox contract during one of her trips to Uzushiogakure in her timeline.

Kurama had revealed to her when she found the caves that the Uzumaki clan had been the original owners of the Kitsune contract, but only certain members of the clan held it at a time – and always the clan head. It had apparently been lost when the last clan head, her grandfather had died when Uzushio was destroyed.

With seals left by the clan and Kurama's help she was able to regain the contract. It was a good thing because she wasn't sure if she could summon the toads anymore, now that she was in the past. With the Kitsune clan she knew she could since it was a time-space contract, no matter where she went the foxes would answer.

With the toads she wasn't so sure, she could assume it was the same for all summons since they had their own realm of existence. Noriko had decided she'd hold off on summoning any toads until Jiraiya arrived.

Yoruyuki and Yukiyoru were both what one would call twins, Yoruyuki being the smaller of the two, with ivory fur with black as well as the male of the two. Yukiyoru was the slight larger and female, she was a darker ivory than her brother, with dark auburn instead of black. Both had bright golden eyes.

"What..." Kakashi trailed off, blinking his one visible eye at the foxes which stared back as if bored.

"We're not whats, rude," Yukiyoru grumbled.

"These are my summons," Noriko said, smiling slightly. "The larger one is Yukiyoru, and her brother, Yoruyuki. I have another fox summon, Asatsuyu, inside keeping an eye on Naruto with one of my shadow clones."

"I didn't know there was a fox summons."

Yukiyoru and Yoruyuki both snorted.

"Figures," Yoruyuki muttered. "Even in this timeline we're forgotten."

Yukiyoru rolled her eyes.

"Of course we are... it's not been changed enough to really be any different." Yukiyoru seemed to hesitate as she went on, blinking as if she was trying to phrase her words carefully. Or figure out if what she said made sense. "I think."

Noriko smirked at the fox twins' words before dismissing them and leading Kakashi inside. She knew he'd been there before, after all he'd been close to her father and her mother after he'd gotten to know her.

Though the place was a little on the dusty side since she was pretty sure her parents had lived in an apartment during her mother's pregnancy, a place closer to the Hokage's office, since her mother didn't like being inside such a deserted compound, and large house alone all the time. Her father was often at the office doing paperwork or Hokage-like things.

She could understand, being Hokage was a difficult job, especially during a war or just after one – though she hadn't had that pleasure, the war had never ended before she came to this timeline.

She shook her head as her thoughts drifted to her timeline. She couldn't think of that, or those she'd left behind. She had no idea what became or would become of her timeline and it was best she didn't dwell on it. She had things more important to worry about.

Like raising Naruto for instance. That in itself was a overwhelming situation, at least at first. She'd become used to the idea in the week she'd already spent taking care of Naruto. She'd even become accustomed to signing her name as Uzumaki Noriko and answering to it, along with introducing herself as Noriko.

It was a name similar to her birth name so it wasn't that hard, and she'd been mentally preparing for this for months. They'd all chosen new names in case there were younger versions of themselves running around.

Sakura would become Tsukino Sayuri and Sasuke, after many debates, would become Uchiha Izuna (there was no way someone wouldn't realize he was a Uchiha). Unfortunately her closest friends hadn't survived to come back with her. Part of her wished she could have convinced Konohamaru, Hanabi and Akina to return with her, but they were stubborn. They refused to go, beveling she was the only one who could accomplish anything and they'd just get in the way and complicate things.

Once inside the living room, which was probably the largest room in the house besides the bathroom, kitchen and master bedroom, they could instantly see a little baby, not doing much of anything as it lay in a play pen with many fluffy pillows and a spinning mobile things above it – anchored to the ceiling by a hook a ninja wire – that the blonde, blue eyed baby seemed to be entranced with.

The colors for one were bright, oranges, blues, red, yellows and purples. The objects spinning on the mobile were animal based. Foxes, cats, toads, dogs, etc.

Laying beside the pen was a large fox, probably the size of a horse, though possibly a little smaller. It was a dark auburn and black fox and had golden eyes – rather different from Yoruyuki and Yukiyoru in coloring, other than the eyes.

"Ah, you're back Noriko-hime," the fox said, slowly sitting up, showing that it was indeed nearly the size of a horse, it's five tails flicking behind it.

It also had a forehead protector around it's neck which hadn't been seen from her position before. It had a kanji for warrior on it. Yoruyuki and Yukiyoru had also had one, but around their front left legs which had the kanji for protector on it, Kakashi remembered.

"Yes, thank you for staying here with my clone to watch Naruto for me, Asatsuyu," Noriko said, smiling in a fox-like manner.

"It was a pleasure, I hope we get to see more of the kit in the future. Seeing as who she is she would make a wonderful summoner when she is old enough."

Noriko smiled lightly, nodding.

"Indeed," she said, and Asatsuyu bowed slightly to Noriko and nodded in acknowledgment to Kakashi before returning to the summoning realm of the foxes.

"The Fox contract was the summons of the Uzumaki clan, though used by only a few at a time, mainly the clan head and whoever proved worthy."

Kakashi looked at in some surprise.

"I've never seen anything about it in the history books..."

"You wouldn't. Actually the history books used now, or at least when I was in the Academy don't really say anything about Uzushiogakure and it relationship with Konoha. I don't know exactly how that came to be, since I know it was once something taught, but it wouldn't be in them anyways. The clan was rather paranoid at times, and didn't go around flaunting their skills, or summoning contract in this case."

Kakashi frowned, nodding as he thought of what she said. It was true, he recalled a little bit concerning Uzushiogakure in the books when he was in the Academy, but according to Minato-sensei and even Kushina when he'd asked her about her homeland, the books had been revised over the years and much of the history of Uzushio had been cut out for some reason.

It was something Kushina would frown and seem upset about, as if knowing one day it would be forgotten that Uzushiogakure was anything but a small shinobi village whipped out for its skills (at least to those not old enough to remember the once prosperous island.

"How do you know so much about your mother's clan... I mean..." Kakashi was at a loss at to what to say. He was still trying to process everything. "You really are Naruto aren't you?"

Noriko turned from where she'd picked up baby Naruto and smiled.

"Nice to know you're still smart, Kakashi-sensei, even at fourteen," she said, and Kakashi twitched a little at the teasing tone in her voice when she said his name.

"As for how I know, I took a few trips to Uzushiogakure, my clan left certain things for survivors that might show up. There was a few things left by my grandparents in case my mother or one of her children – myself – came looking. It was a seal that acted as a recording of the battle of Uzushio, and I saw everything. It was one reason my cover story has me as a survivor, I know what happened so I can't be caught off guard if anyone asks."

"How?" he asked. "I didn't think fūinjutsu could do something like this. The Hokage said you came back to stop a war, the fourth shinobi war, but..."

Noriko sighed, interrupting the younger version of the man she knew.

"If it were only that easy," she said, as if knowing what he was meaning to say.

Couldn't she have simply won the war and rebuilt, like every other time there had been a great war?

"You don't understand how devastating this war was. Every small village with a grudge against Konoha or was persuaded by Madara attacked us, and of course he had Kabuto bringing back the dead to fight for them. Among the dead being great shinobi, some where our friends. Sasuke, Sakura and I saw some hope by using the Jikan Rippuru Fūin and worked in our spare time to complete it. If it weren't for me having studied seals so intensely, Sasuke having some skill in it, and Sakura's intelligence and logic... I don't know if we'd have succeeded. In the end, after they died and I was all that was left I continued to fight. For five months I fought, loosing more of my shinobi, and finally the ones left of my precious people convinced me that it was the only way. So here I am."

It sounded as if it made the Third war sound like a playground dispute, Kakashi thought and he regretted asking when he saw the tears threatening to fall from Noriko's eyes.

"I'm sorry, about your friends," he said, not knowing if it would help any at all. "I hope we can work together to stop that from happening this time, Noriko."

Noriko smiled.

"Sure, though I should warn you now, I'm not known as Konoha's number one unpredictable ninja for nothing."

Kakashi smirked under his mask.

He could easily see Minato-sensei and Kushina in Noriko, and it helped a little to dull the pain of the loss, though he could clearly see Noriko was her own person. He couldn't help but wonder how Naruto would turn out being raised by Noriko. There was no doubt that she'd be different, being raised properly instead of how he figured Noriko was from what the Hokage had told him.

He was relieved to know Naruto would get the childhood she deserved, though he doubted Noriko could shield her completely from the villages hate – or at least from those who weren't accepting of Noriko and Naruto or Minato's sealing skills.

He decided then he would help Noriko and Naruto as much as he could.


	4. How Things Change

**Ultranumb.**

**Chapter 4: How Things Change. **

She wasn't sure she was making the right decisions.

She knew how ANBU worked, she had been Hokage for Shinigami's sake, she had even thought of going into ANBU before the war broke out. Usually, though, It wasn't about deciding to go into ANBU, ANBU usually came to you.

It was how she found herself, ten months after arriving in the past, standing before the Hokage in full ANBU gear and a porcelain mask resembling a cat with three red stripes — one vertical stripe on the forehead and two horizontal stripes, one on each cheek.

Beside her was Kakashi, dressed in the standard ANBU uniform as she was, but with a proclaim mask depicting a dog, and dark purple-black marks instead of red.

She had already known Kakashi had been in ANBU, he'd guarded her as Dog when she was younger in her timeline – though not often, she supposed he had immersed himself in missions quite often after her parents died.

She on the other hand... well she knew she was still a ninja, and she wouldn't be able to stay by Naruto's side twenty-four seven. Thankfully by the time ANBU had come to her with their offer five months after she'd arrived she had already made bonds.

Kurenai, Gai (which was sort of overwhelming since it was like the man never changed, past or future. It was almost like being around Rock Lee again. It amazed her those two weren't blood related), Asuma (again, he looked so similar to Konohamaru at fourteen it was amazing, and sort of hard at first as it was a reminder of the boy she saw as a little brother).

She'd even met Anko a few months after she'd met the others and it reminded her of the fact Orochimaru hadn't left Konoha yet. By the time Anko returned though she'd made a b-line for the Hokage. He'd told her that from the information she'd given him in one of their talks about the future he'd already found Orochimaru's lab and they'd infiltrated.

Orochimaru had gotten away, but they'd recovered some children alive. With the details she realized it was nearly a year earlier than in her timeline and more than Yamato had been found alive.

Unfortunately it looked like whatever Orochimaru had done to Yamato to give him Makuton had already been completed. She had little doubt the boy would develop the bloodline in the future.

It hadn't stopped her from being angry at Hiruzen for keeping her in the dark about something she should have been told about. Noriko had been angry enough to do something no other shinobi would dream of doing to the Hokage... yell at him.

If it had been anyone else she doubted they'd get away with it, few had the authority to second guess the Hokage after all and get away with it.

Even if he seemed to be loosing some power to the council, which she made sure to mention to Hiruzen when they discussed details on the future. She warned him that he needed to be careful of how much power he gave the council, especially the civilians and to watch the elders carefully.

They meant well, but they were old and loosing sight of what was best... especially Danzo.

She wasn't sure he was taking her too seriously, though she knew he tried. She got the opinion it wasn't that he wasn't trying or listening it was simply finding the time. Hokage was a demanding job after all and Hiruzen was getting old. It was the reason he'd retired in the first place and chosen a successor. Now he had to take the position back since Minato had died so prematurely.

Even though she'd only been in the past for nearly a year she could already see the changes, but no matter how things changed they stayed the same. People were still pointing the blame at the Uchiha for Kurama's attack on the village, and it was causing her to fear for the Uchiha clans future.

She wanted to save them, but even she knew she couldn't save everyone, and her duty as a ninja, plus raising Naruto wasn't a walk in the park. She barely had time these days, especially since she'd skipped jōnin and became a ANBU five months after arriving.

If she hadn't already made connections with Mikoto and the Uchiha clan – not wanting to be to distant since she had ties to it through her cover story and even in reality thanks to Sasuke's eyes – she wasn't sure she'd be able to juggle Naruto and being an ANBU.

She was surprised by how they had accepted her, but she had a feeling it was partially thanks to Mikoto and Fugaku's influence. After all, Uchiha Kota, her grandfather as far as anyone knew, was Mikoto's father's close friend and teammate...as well as cousin no matter how distantly. Fugaku had also fought with Kota in the Third War.

Though when they were free, Kurenai and Anko were happy to watch Naruto, and even Hiruzen would keep her in his office if she had no one else to take her too when both she and Kakashi had missions, but it was Mikoto that took the majority of the babysitting duty.

Mikoto was a jōnin, but not active any longer. Basically being retired unless recalled by the Hokage, and she didn't mind taking care of Naruto when Noriko had long missions or couldn't be there. She usually always left one of her foxes behind, not only did Naruto like the summons, but so did Itachi and Sasuke.

That had been another surprise for her. It wasn't that she didn't know Itachi and Sasuke were alive during this point in time but seeing them so young was the shock. Itachi was only six when she arrived, and now seven. Sasuke was now a year old, while Naruto had two months before her first birthday.

Of course she had now grown used to seeing them as children and in Sasuke's case babies. She saw them often enough, she and Mikoto were rather close friends, and while she wasn't as close to Fugaku they were friendly and civil when in each others presence.

"Cat, Dog, you may take your masks off," Hiruzen said, drawing the blonde from her thoughts.

Reaching up Naruto pulled the mask from her face, Kakashi doing the same beside her.

"Your mission?"

"The threat was taken care of. We made it into Cha no Kuni with ease, and found the target where the client said he would be," Kakashi said.

Noriko nodded.

"I went undercover as one of the girls from the house, and was able to get close to him. After which I was able to finish the job, and leave without being seen," she said, and Hiruzen nodded, noticing how Kakashi twitched when she mentioned her going undercover.

Considering they'd been hired to take out a very wealthy, very cruel, and very cunning brothel house owner he wasn't too surprised. He'd sent his best assassination teams (as the target was known to hire shinobi to guard him), which was Squad 13, which included Kakashi and Noriko, but he wasn't surprised by Kakashi's reaction.

He'd thought for some time now that the boy might have developed feelings for the time traveler.

"The shinobi working for him?" he inquired.

"Taken out by myself, Crane, Panther and Squirrel," Kakashi said. "While Noriko handled the inside we drew the three shinobi out, and quickly dispatched of them."

"Good job, you and your team may return home," he said, and then nodded over to where a blonde lump slept surrounded by baby toys, and a large fox. "I think you may want to take Naruto as well."

Noriko snorted as she looked back to where Asatsuyu slept with Naruto curled up into her side. Both slept like the dead, and Noriko didn't remember sleeping like that when she was younger. As far as she remembered she'd always been a rather light sleeper.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama for watching her. I didn't expect this mission to run on so long or Mikoto to have to assist Fugaku on a mission."

Hiruzen chuckled.

"I find life is always filled with unexpected things," he said and Noriko picked Naruto up into her arms, waking Asatsuyu who growled for a moment before realizing who she was.

"Ah, Noriko-hime," the fox said, standing. "I am glad to see you've returned. I will return now if that is all you need?"

Noriko nodded, and handed Naruto to Kakashi who had gotten used to the blonde handing Naruto off to him when she had to free her hands for something.

The first few times had been awkward, babies tended to scare him, especially after that D-rank when he was younger to watch the orphans.

Thankfully, Naruto wasn't like them... yet.

* * *

**...**

It was a few days later that Noriko found herself and Naruto in the home of the Uchiha clan head and his wife.

Her distant cousin, she reminded herself of her back story. By now it was instinct to use her back story as a survivor of Uzushiogakure when asked about her past. But after ten months it should be.

"Noriko," Mikoto began, smiling as she sat the tray with tea in the center of the coffee table. "I'm sorry about the other day. I didn't realize Fugaku would need my help with a mission. I would have let Kokiko watch all three but I wasn't sure if you would be alright with that... considering."

Noriko sighed, she knew what Mikoto meant. Over the last ten months there had been five attempts to assassinate her and Naruto. Usually they went after Naruto first, seeing as she was the most defenseless.

Unfortunately for them she set up ward seals around the compound so she knew when someone entered and it was simple for her to find out if it was someone she knew and trusted.

Three of the attempts were by shinobi, the other two were by brave but foolish villagers. She'd made an example from them all, though she left one alive each time to hand over to the Hokage for interrogation.

There hadn't been another attempt in four months, which was the longest period of no attacks in a long time. She was pretty sure they had caught on that she was as protective as any mother fox with their kits and that anyone who thought they could attack her or Naruto and live were sadly mistaken.

Of course she'd had to put up with the glares, hate filled looks, whispered words and over charged prices. Thankfully it wasn't as bad as when she was growing up.

There was a good majority of people who respected her for not only being the Yondaime's sister but a Kunoichi and part of the Namikaze, Uzumaki and Uchiha clans, even if she was just an Illegitimate child of the Namikaze and Uchiha clans.

There were those of the Uchiha clan who didn't like that she was welcomed by a majority of the clan thanks to the influence of the clan heads family, but in the last months they'd gotten used to it. It wasn't unusual to see her in the Uchiha compound, especially since she trusted Mikoto to watch Naruto when she had no one else to leave her with while she worked.

"It's alright, and it would have been fine to leave her with Kokiko-Obachan. She's your aunt after all, and Asatsuyu would have made sure nothing happened."

Mikoto laughed, thinking of the large fox with five tails.

"I have to admit, you're right. I think your summons scare the majority of people witless, especially after the Kyuubi attack last year," she said and Noriko nodded.

"Hmm," Noriko began, putting her tea cup down. "That's why I try not to have them around the villagers. No need to cause a panic, just imagine if I were to summon the boss."

Mikoto paled a little, thinking of a large fox the Kyuubi's size with six tails. Seeing Mikoto's face, Noriko laughed.

"Don't be like that, Akumamaru isn't the frighting," Noriko said, smirking into her tea.

Mikoto raised an eyebrow.

"Akumamaru? Is that the boss fox?" she asked.

"Yes," Noriko said. "I don't summon him often. Yoruyuki, Yukiyoru and Asatsuyu are his kits."

Mikoto nodded, and the two women looked over to together upon hearing the sound of squeals from where Naruto, Sasuke and Itachi were.

The two babies had grabbed a hold of each others hair and were pulling as they seemed to struggle to over power the other. Itachi stared, the look on his usually eerily composed face, wide with uncertainty of what to do.

Noriko took one look at the two and burst into laughter. The two were barely a year old and already fighting each other. She forced the sad smile from her face, she wondered if her parents had survived if she would have known Sasuke from such a young age as well? Would if have changed anything?

* * *

**...**

"You're sure this is for the best, sensei?" Jiraiya asked the old Hokage, beside him stood a Cat ANBU, with long blonde hair held up in a high braided ponytail.

He already knew who Cat was. Not long after the Kyuubi attack he'd gotten the news of what became of his student and rushed back so quickly there were rumors of a white flash going around.

He'd been in for the biggest shock when his sensei had introduced him to a girl who could have been Minato and Kushina's daughter she looked so much like them.

Other than the whiskers, black eyes and her hair being spikier than Kushina's ever hoped to be (Kushina's was pretty much pin-straight though so even a little was a lot).

He still remembered being shocked, and in disbelief that Noriko was who she said she was. Her story had been to well thought out, too realistic to be a ploy by Iwa or another Shinobi Village. The Shiki Fūjin on her stomach was what truly convinced him other than the fact she was under no genjutsu or anything else to alter her appearance.

It had still taken him a few days to wrap him head around it though, but now, ten months later he was so used to it he didn't even stop to think when people asked who she was or what her past was. It was like it wasn't a cover story at all but her true past, only he, Hiruzen, Minato's student – Kakashi, and Noriko herself knew the truth of her origins.

To everyone else she was The Yondaime Hokage's little sister, and Kushina Uzumaki's cousin... one of the last Uzumaki survivors of Uzushiogakure.

"I understand your hesitation, but Cat and I have been discussing it for some time," Hiruzen said. "Cat, you can remove your mask if you wish..."

Cat barely twitched from her position behind the Hokage, but nodded though she did not in fact remove her mask just yet. She was after all on duty, and even though she was a trained for assassination she was currently acting as one of the Hokage's guards.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama," she said, before turning back to Jiraiya. "Ero-sennin, I know why you may be hesitant, I am too but it's out best bet. We don't want or need Danzo to become an enemy of any sort in the future. Even I don't know a lot in concern to Danzo, in my time he was a paranoid war-hawk who went too far in his view of Konoha. I am not saying we let our guard down, far from it, but maybe we can appease him, for lack of better term."

"Like giving a child the ice cream they've been denied in small portions?" he suggested and Cat (Noriko) shook with repressed laughter at how absurd.

"That is one way to phrase it, Jiraiya," the Hokage said, a small smile on his face, and amusement in his eyes.

"Weren't you the one that wanted to find some way to execute Danzo for treason, Noriko?" Jiraiya asked suddenly and Noriko coughed, a bit startled.

"Yes, well... my experience with him was never the most nice of experiences. In my timeline he was taken out before he could do anymore damage by Sasuke..."

"Your old teammate?" Jiraiya asked, trying to make sure he had the right person in mind.

She mentioned quite a few of her close friends over the last ten months, though never in great detail so it wasn't hard to get them mixed up at times.

Noriko nodded.

"Yes. Most of what I know came from Sai, and records I found as Hokage. Mostly hearsay. By giving him the go ahead for Root, it might make Danzo more of an ally in the future. I don't know how much I can prevent, or what I'll be able to change. I'd be a fool to think I could prevent every bad event in history. For one I don't know every event, exact dates and causes."

Noriko sighed, head bowed.

"Also Root would be an advantage. Everyone knows of ANBU, but not many know of the Root operatives, and they would be a help if I can't prevent the war from happening. Even if I can, they'd still be helpful in case of the unexpected."

Hiruzen and Jiraiya nodded, unable to deny that.

"Truth is the main reason Root was disbanded was because they did not have any loyalty to the Hokage, and and of course the methods Danzo went to acquire his ROOT Shinobi and how he trained them."

"That is the problem, how do we know he won't just turn around in a decade and use them to take over the village? As you said they have no loyalty to the Hokage," Jiraiya said.

"You both have good points, but I believe Danzo only has the villages best interest at heart... even as misguided and twisted as they became in the future timeline, and his loyalty as well as his ROOT remains with Konoha. That is good enough for me, and I don't think him foolish. We of course will set regulations before him. ROOT Shinobi will be registered, and their files accessed by only Danzo and myself. His methods of training will also have to be modified, so they can operate as any other human in society and social situations..."

"You think he'll agree to that? He's a big fan of 'emotions are weakness to a shinobi'," Jiraiya asked, interrupting.

"He has no choice," Noriko said. "Hokage-sama's demands are small compared to what he's allowing. I don't know Danzo personally, but I believe he'll see the benefit of having ROOT a legal branch of ANBU even if he must make some sacrifices."

Hiruzen nodded.

"Now then, I have paperwork to get back too," he began, grimaces at the mention of a Kage's most hated foe. "I'll be bringing this ultimatum to Danzo's attention tomorrow. I expect you and Jiraiya will search for Tsunade within a few days?"

"We'll leave tomorrow, no reason to post pone it any longer. Not to mention I'm sure the brat wants to make it quick so she can return to Naruto quickly," Jiraiya said.

"Good, I'll make sure to give Kakashi leave for the next two weeks, to give you plenty of time to return," Hiruzen said. "Noriko, you may go for the day. Send in Raccoon on your way out, please."

Noriko bowed, and followed Jiraiya out of the room, signaling for Raccoon who stood a few feet from the door to enter.

* * *

**...**

Kakashi stood with Noriko at the gates of the Village, Naruto in his arms.

Some people who passed by them smiled in a way he was unsure of, mostly from older couples. While those who hated Noriko and Naruto for being jinchūriki either outright ignored them or glared as they passed.

Noriko, of course, ignored these people, she seemed to have a way about acting as if the glares and hated words didn't exist. The only time he saw her get upset or angry with them was when those brave enough had attacked, trying to _'finish the Yondaime's work'_.

Kakashi thought they were fools, to not trust in Minato-sensei's skills, but he also knew nothing he or Noriko could say would change their views. Not yet, not so soon after the Kyuubi had attacked.

She had mentioned how she'd gained most of their support during a battle against the supposed Akatsuki leader, Pain, in the future. Though even then there had been a fraction of Konoha who still hated her.

"It shouldn't take too long to find Tsunade-baachan," Noriko said, drawing him from her thoughts.

He couldn't help but notice how the sunlight reflected off her blonde hair, making it brighter and how she tucked a strand behind her ear. It was a habit he'd begun to notice she had.

"Maa maa, we'll be alright, she can play with Pakkun again if she wants," Kakashi said, smirking slightly under his mask.

Noriko snorted.

"That's just cruel, poor Pakkun's tail may never be the same after Naruto finished chewing on it," she muttered and Kakashi snickered, while Naruto looked between the too with wide blue eyes as she had her small fist stuck in her mouth.

Naruto was a very curious baby, and wanted to stick everything and anything she could into her mouth. Noriko and Kakashi had both learned to keep a rather close eye on her after the kunai incident. Neither knew how she got the kunai, but she was seconds from trying to chew on it when Noriko had stopped her, taking the kunai away from the nine month old.

"Ma..ma?"

Both Kakashi and Noriko froze, and looked at the blonde baby, who would turn one in two months.

"Did..did she just say mama?" Noriko asked, eyes wide and Kakashi blinked.

"Eh...either that or she said Maa maa?" Kakashi suggested, flinched at the bland look Noriko sent him. He supposed the idea that Naruto said something that translated to 'so so' as her first word wasn't what she wanted to hear.

Naruto giggled, holding her arms out to Noriko.

"Mama, mama!"

For a moment there was silence, but soon enough Noriko grinned, and took Naruto into her arms for the moment. Noriko smirked over Kakashi.

"Told you so," she said, and Kakashi just blinked. "At least I didn't miss her first word..."

"By the time you come back she'll be saying Kakashi," he muttered, and Noriko laughed at the undertone of a pout she heard in his voice.

"Hear that Naruto?" Noriko asked, looking at the baby on her side – seeing as she'd grown a lot more in ten months than she thought possible, but then again Noriko had never really been around many babies, other than Kurenai's daughter. "Can you say Kakashi? Ka-ka-shi..."

Kakashi smiled slightly as he looked back up and chuckled at how Naruto's face scrunched up as if wondering what her mother was on about.

"Da da," Naruto said, in such a way it was as if she was reprimanding her mother.

To Jiraiya, who had just arrived it was hilarious the reaction both had. Kakashi's jaw had dropped, or at least appeared to have behind his mask, and his eyes were wide. Noriko's mouth was open in surprise and her eyes equally as wide. Naruto just continued to giggle before stuffing her fist back into her mouth.

Jiraiya laughed, startling the two back to attention, and the sannin was pretty sure he saw a small smile on both teenagers faces once they'd gotten over their shock.

"Smart kid, two words in one day," he said and Noriko flushed a little as she handed Naruto back to Kakashi.

"Alright..I'll see you both in a few days," Noriko told Kakashi, trying to keep the blush off her face. She didn't know exactly why she was so...nervous or why her stomach felt all tied up, but she just chalked it up to her not wanting to leave the Village only a week and a half after returning from their last ANBU mission.

"We'll see you then," Kakashi said, and couldn't help but think the flush on her cheeks made her cuter.

He watched as Noriko and Jiraiya left the Village.

"Mama?" Naruto spoke in a way that sounded almost questioningly and Kakashi looked at the child and gave a eye-smile.

"Mama will be back in a few days, Naru-chan. Until then we'll stay at my place and you can play with the dogs and Asatsuyu."


End file.
